My thoughts on the Phillies season.

Results tagged ‘ Athletics ’

For the second time this season the Phillies have lost their third game in a row as they are beaten up by the Angels, 7-1. The Angels would take a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first when Adam Eaton, after getting two quick outs, would give up a two-run home run to Vladimir Guerrero, his eleventh home run of the season, knocking in Garret Anderson, who has earlier doubled. The Angels would increase their lead to 3-0 in the second when Anderson hit a RBI single, scoring Chone Figgins, who has singled earlier. The game would then settle down until the top of the sixth, when the Angels would finally knock out Eaton. After giving up singles to both Maicer Izturis and Anderson, Guerrero would hit a RBI single, scoring Izturis, to make it 4-0 Angels. Eaton was then be taken out for Ryan Madson. After getting one out, Madson would give up a RBI single to Casy Kotchman, scoring Anderson and sending Guerrero to third, as the Angels now leads it 5-0. Madson then gives up a RBI ground rule double to Howie Kendrick, as the ball gets stuck beneath the fence in center field, allowing only Guerrero to score, as Kotchman is sent back to third, to make the score 6-0 Angels. All three runs would be charged to Eaton. The Phillies would finally score in the bottom of the sixth when Jimmy Rollins, who got on first on a fielding error by first baseman Kotchman, and then stole second and went to third on catcher’s Jeff Mathis’ throwing error, would score on Chase Utley’s sacrifice fly, making it 6-1 Angels. The Angels would add their final run in the eighth, when Mathis would hit a RBI double, scoring Kotchman, who has earlier doubled. That would be it as the Phillies’ offense was for the most part handcuffed tonight by Angels’ starter Erwin Santana and relievers Jose Arredondo and Justin Speier, getting only two hits the whole night.

Adam Eaton took the lost as he would only pitch five innings plus three batters, giving up six earned runs on twelve hits. His record is now 2-5 with a 4.94 ERA. Ryan Madson would pitch two innings, giving up no runs, although all three runners that he would inherit would score, on two hits. Clay Condrey would pitch an inning, giving up an earned run on three hits. J.C. Romero would pitch a scoreless, hitless inning. Ervin Santana would get the win, pitching seven innings, giving up an unearned run on two hits and nine strikeouts. His record is now 9-3 with a 3.17 ERA. Jose Arredondo and Justin Speier would both pitch a scoreless, hitless inning in relief.

Adam Eaton’s string of quality starts ends at five while the Phillies’ batters were only able to get two hits, both off of Angels’ starter Ervin Santana. Chase Utley is now 0-23, although he would knock in the Phils only run with a sacrifice fly. The Phillies have now lost three games in a row, doing so for only the second time this season. Hopefully the offense will solve their present problems during tomorrow night’s game.

The weekend series between the Phillies (42-33) and the Angels (44-30, 1st American League West) will continue tomorrow night at Citizens Bank Park. The game will begin at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be Brett Myers (3-8, 5.58), who is coming off a no-decision against the Cardinals on June 15, where he would only go six innings, while giving up six earned runs on eight hits, in the Phils’ 7-6 lost. Myers has been mostly ineffective this year, being unable to keep the Phils in games that he would start. The Phillies are hoping that he can solve whatever problems he is having so that they can have a chance to avoid losing their fourth game in a row. The Angels will counter with Joe Saunders (10-3, 3.06), who is coming off a victory against the Braves on June 15, where he would go seven and one third scoreless innings, giving up only six hits in the Angels’ 2-0 win. He will be looking to keep the normally explosive Phillies’ bats quiet for another game.

The lost would keep the Phillies two games ahead of the Marlins, who have just lost their game with the Athletics in extra-innings. The Mets are presently trailing the Phillies by four and a half games as they have defeated the Rockies. The Braves are still trailing by six games as they have lost their game with the Mariners. The Phillies will be trying to win their weekend series while hoping to increase their lead over the rest of the division.

The first place Phillies (42-32) will be facing Gary Matthews, Jr and the Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim (43-30, 1st American League West) at Citizens Bank Park for a three games weekend series. The first game of the home stand will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies will be sending to the mound Adam Eaton (2-4, 4.57), who is coming off his fifth straight quality start, although losing to the Cardinals on June 14, as he would pitch six and two-thirds innings, giving up three earned runs on nine hits, in the Phillies’ 3-2 lost. In those five starts, he is 2-1 with a no-decision, which the Phils won, pitching a combined total of thirty-two and a third innings, giving up eleven earned runs on thirty-two hits. Eaton will be trying for his sixth straight quality start while trying to get his third win of the season to help the Phillies to once again put some distance between them and their opponents in the National League East. The Angels will counter with Ervin Santana (8-3, 3.40), who is coming off a lost to the Braves on June 14, where would only go five and two-thirds innings, giving up six earned runs on nine hits, in the Angels’ 9-4 lost. He will once again be looking for his ninth win while trying to dominate the Phils’ bats.

This will be the first time that Sarge’s son will make an appearance at Citizens Bank Park, where he will be watched by his father from the broadcast booth. The Phillies’ offense will be trying to get back on the winning track, hopefully with the batters being a bit more patient at the plate and being a lot more consistant in runs production. Also, Chase Utley will be trying to break out of his present 0-20 slump which has caused his batting average to dip under .300 (.294), twenty-fourth best in the NL. Although he is still leading the league in home runs with twenty-two, he is now third in RBIs with sixty-two, fourth in runs scored with fifty-six, eleventh in hits with eighty-three and sixth in slugging percentage (.606). The Phils will need him to get back to being able to get hits and knock in runs for the offense to get going again.

The Phillies’ lead in the National League East is now at two games as the second place Marlins head to Oakland for a three games series with the Athletics. They are presently leading the now third place Mets by five and a half games as they go to Denver for a three games weekend series with the Rockies. The now fourth place Braves, thanks to their lost to the Angels yesterday afternoon, trail the Phillies by six games as they get ready to play host to the Seattle Mariners for a three game series. The Phillies, as they try to win their first series since their sweep of the Braves, hope that the rest of their division will do poorly against their opponents this weekend.

Two rain delays, and the Blue Jays’ excellent use of their bullpen, help to defeat the Phils’ in the final game of their three games interleague play series, 6-5. The lost put the Phillies in a tie for second place with the New York Mets, both teams now a full game behind the Florida Marlins, as the Mets would win their game with the New York Yankees. The Phils start the game off by taking a quick 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, as Ryan Howard hits a two-run home run, his tenth home run of the year, off of Blue Jays’ starter, Shaun Marcum, scoring Jimmy Rollins, who has gotten on base earlier with a single, while Phils’ starter Kyle Kendrick pitched a 1-2-3 first inning on twelve pitches. The two teams would then go through a rain delay which would last over two hours before resuming play. When it does, both starters would be remove by their teams, with the Phils using Chad Durbin in place of Kendrick, while the Blue Jays would counter with Shawn Camp. Both teams are then kept off the scoreboard until the bottom of the fourth inning, when the Phils’ score their third run of the ballgame on a RBI single by Carlos Ruiz, scoring Geoff Jenkins, who has also singled. But the Phils would then miss an opportunity to break the game wide open, as, with the bases loaded and two outs, Camp would get out of the inning by getting Jayson Werth to fly out. Then things would go from bad to worst, as Durbin, with two on and two outs, would give up a pitch hit, three-runs home run to Lyle Overbay, his second home run of the year, scoring Rod Barajas, who has earlier doubled, the Blue Jays’ first hit of the game, and Marco Scutaro, who has walked, tying the game at 3-3. In the bottom of the fourth, the Phils would threaten to retake the lead, as they loaded up the bases again, this time with one out, against Blue Jays’ reliever Brian Tallet. Tallet is replaced by Jason Frasor, who is able to end the Phils’ threat by getting Pedro Feliz to pop up and Ruiz to ground out. In the top of the fifth, the Blue Jays’ would take the lead, as they score three runs off of Rudy Seanez. The first two runs are knocked in on a RBI double by Shannon Stewart, scoring Aaron Hills, who has also doubled, and Matt Stairs, who has just been intenionally walked, giving the Blue Jays a 5-3 lead. Barajas would then single in Stewart, making it 6-3 Blue Jays. The Phils would get a run back in the bottom of the sixth, as Chase Utley doubles in Rollins, who has gotten on base earlier with a walk. After Howard walks, the game is once again delayed by rain. After play resumes again, the Blue Jays would replace Jesse Carlson, who has just replaced Frasor, with Cy Young award winner Ray Halladay, to face Pat Burrell. Halladay would end the threat by getting Burrell to pop up, leaving the score, 6-4 Blue Jays. The Phils would threathen for one last time in the ninth, when, with two outs, Pat Burrell would hit his tenth home run of the year, a solo shot off of B.J. Ryan, making it a 6-5 ballgame. Chris Coste would then double, putting the tying run in scoring position, as Eric Bruntlett comes up to pitch hit. Unfortunately, after fouling off several pitches, Ryan would get Bruntlett to strike out swinging, ending the ballgame, as he records his ninth save.

Kyle Kendrick, the Phils’ starter, would only go one inning because of the two hours plus rain delay, facing only three hitters as he gives up no runs on no hits. Chad Durbin would go four innings, giving up three earned runs on two hits, one of which was a pitch hit home run. Rudy Seanez, the Phils’ losing pitcher, would go one inning, giving up three earned runs on three hits. His record is now 2-3, while his ERA rises up to 2.89. J.C. Romero would pitch one inning, giving up no runs on no hits. Clay Condrey would also go an inning, giving up no runs on one hit. Brad Lidge would pitch one inning, giving up no runs on no hits. Blue Jays’s starter, Shaun Marcum, like Kendrick, would only go one inning because of the long rain delay, giving up two earned runs on two hits, one of which was Ryan Howard’s home run. Shawn Camp would then pitch three innings, giving up an earned run on four hits. Brian Tallet would only go a third of an inning, giving up no runs on three hits. Jason Frasor, the Blue Jays’ winning pitcher, would go an inning and a third, giving up an earned run on no hits. Jesse Carlson would face just two batters, giving up no runs on a hit and a walk. Roy Halladay would pitch two and one-thirds innings, giving up no runs on one hits. B.J. Ryan would go an inning, giving up one earned run on two hits, as he records his ninth save of the years.

The Phils’ offense, although out hitting the Blue Jays’ thirteen hits to six, would twice leave the bases loaded, once with less than two men outs, whereby one hit at either time could’ve help them put the game out of reach. Instead, momentum shifted over to the Blue Jays, who would get to both Durbin and Seanez for their six runs in the fifth and sixth innings, thus ballooning both relievers ERAs in the process.

With the lost of their Interleague play series with the Blue Jays (23-23, 4th American League East), the Phillies (24-21) split their six games home stand, 3-3. They will now travel to Washington, D.C. to start a two cities, seven games, road trip to Washington and Houston. Their first game will be played tonight in D.C. in the Nationals’ (19-26) new ballpark, Nationals Park. The game will start at 7:10 pm Eastern. The Phils’ starting pitcher will be Brett Myers (2-4, 5.91), who is coming off of his worst outing of the season, as he would go only four and one-thirds innings against the Braves on May 14, giving up eight runs, six of which were earned, on nine hits, in the Phils’ 8-6 lost. He will be looking to regain his stuff as he faces the Nationals for the 28th time in his long career. In his 27 previous starts against them, including when the Nationals were the Montreal Expos, he is 7-7 lifetime, with a 4.91 ERA. The Nationals will oppose him with Tim Reddings (5-3. 3.55), who is coming off a win against the Mets on May 14, where he pitched six solid innings, giving up only an earned run on two hits, in the Nationals’ 5-3 victory. He will be trying for his sixth win of the season.

In spite of the lost, the Phillies are still trailing the Marlins by a game, as the fish lost their game to the Kansas City Royals, 9-3. The Phils are once again in a technical tie for second place with the New York Mets, .004 percentage points behind them, as the Mets once again defeated the New York Yankees, 11-2. They are a game ahead of the Braves, who have beaten the Oakland Athletics, 5-2. While the Phils play the last place Nationals tonight, the Marlins, the Mets and the Braves will all have the day off, giving the Phils a chance to gain a half game on the Marlins with a victory tonight, if Myers can get his act together and if the offense can get a hit when its needed.

Rod Barajas, who played for the Phillies last year, would return to haunt the Fightin’s as he helped the Blue Jays defeat the Phils by hitting two home runs, one of which was a grand slam home run, as he knocks in five of the Blue Jays’ runs in their 6-3 win over the Phils. The lost to the Blue Jays would put the Phils back into second place in the National League East. Barajas would start the damage in the second inning as he hit a grand slam home run, his second home run of the year, off of losing pitcher Adam Eaton, making it 4-0 Blue Jays, knocking in Matt Stairs, who got on base by being hit by the pitch, Lyle Overbay and Marco Scutaro, who both singled. The Phils would get a run back in the fourth on a Greg Dobbs’ RBI double off of Blue Jays’ starter A.J. Burnett, scoring Geoff Jenkins, who has earlier singled. The Phils would make it a 4-3 ball game in the bottom of the seventh, on a RBI double by Jimmy Rollins, off of Armando Benitez, who has come in in relief of Burnett, knocking in Dobbs, who has earlier singled, and Shane Victorino, who has walked. One of the two runs would be charged to Burnett and the other to Benitez. But the Blue Jays would then strike back in the ninth inning, scoring two runs off of reliever Tom Gordon, with the first run coming on Barajas’ second home run of the night, his third home run of the year, making it 5-3 Blue Jays. The Blue Jays’ last run would come on a ground single to Rollins by Hector Luna, which would be misplayed by Ryan Howard, with Aaron Hill, who has moved to third on the ground ball, scoring on Howard’s fielding error. B.J. Ryan would then come in to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning for the Blue Jays, ending the game as he records his eighth save of the season.

Last night’s game could have been a lot worst if not for the fact that Phillies’ fielders were able to throw out three Blue Jays’ runners out at the plate.

The Phils’ losing pitcher would be Adam Eaton, who would pitch five innings, giving up four earned runs, all on Barajas’ grand slam home run, on eight hits. His record is now 0-2 with a ERA of 5.59. Ryan Madson would pitch two innings of relief, giving up no runs on no hits. J.C. Romero would pitch two-thirds of an inning, giving up no runs on one hit. Tom Gordon would go two-thirds of an inning as well, giving up two earned runs on four hits. Rudy Seanez would also pitch two-thirds of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. Blue Jays’ starter A.J. Burnett would get the win as he would go six and one-third innings, giving up two earned runs on four hits. His record is now 4-4 with an ERA of 4.71. Armando Benitez would go a third of an inning, giving up an earned run on one hit. Scott Downs would pitch an inning and a third, giving up no runs on no hits. B.J. Ryan would get his eighth save as he pitches an inning, giving up no runs on one hit.

The lost put the Phils (24-20) back into second place in the National League East, trailing the Marlins by a game, who won their game last night against the Royals. The Phils are once again a game ahead of the Mets, who had won their games against the Yankees and two games ahead of the Braves, who lost their game with the Athletics. The Phils hope to regain a tie for first place, as the Marlins are presently losing their game with the Royals. The Phils are presently leading the Blue Jays after one inning, 2-0, but the game is presently in the middle of a rain delay.

The Phillies (24-19) will continue their Interleague play weekend series with the Toronto Blue Jays (21-23, 4th American League East) with two more games at Citizens Bank Park. The first game will be played tonight at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phils’ starter for tonight’s game will be Adam Eaton (0-1, 5.40), who is still looking for his first win. He pitched well in his last start against the Giants on May 11, getting a no-decision as he went five innings, giving up two earned runs on five hits in a heartbreaker 4-3 Phillies lost. Eaton will do his best to add another quality start which he hopes will this time translate into a win, especially with the way the Phils’ offense has been hitting the ball lately. His opponent will be A.J. Burnett (3-4, 4.94), the first right handed starter that the Phils have faced in a week. Burnett is coming off a lost to the Cleveland Indians on May 12 in the first game of a doubleheader. In that game, he would go seven and two-thirds innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits in the Blue Jays’ 3-0 lost. He had also lost his previous start against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 6, where he went six innings, giving up five earned runs on nine hits in the Blue Jays’ 5-4 lost. He will be looking to even his record.

The final game of Interleague play and of the six games home stand will be played this Sunday afternoon, starting at 1:35 pm Eastern at Citizens Bank Park. The Phils will be sending Kyle Kendrick to the mound, who is coming off of a win against the Braves on May 13, in spite of giving up three runs to the Braves in the first inning. Kendrick would eventually go six innings, giving up only three earned runs on six hits. He will be looking for his fourth win of the year. His opponent will be Shaun Marcum (4-2, 2.22), who is coming off of a no-decision against the Indians also on May 12, as he pitched the second game of the doubleheader, which the Blue Jays won 3-0. He would go eight innings, giving up no runs on two hits while being involved in a pitcher’s duel with Indians’ starter Cliff Lee. Marcum has won his two previous starts, on May 7 against the Tampa Bay Rays (6-2) and May 2 against the Chicago White Sox (2-0). In those two games he would pitch a combined total of fifteen and one-third innings, giving up two earned runs on six hits. He’ll be looking to get his fifth win of the year at the Phils’ expense.

The Phillies are once again tied for first place in the National League East, .003 percentage points behind the Marlins who lost a close game last night against the Kansas City Royals. The Phils hope that when they go to Washington, D.C. on Monday to face the Nationals for the first of three games in their new ballpark, Nationals Park, that they will either still be tied for first or be in first place by themselves. The Marlins will continue their three games interleague series against the Royals tonight and tomorrow afternoon. The Phils and Marlins are both presently a game and a half ahead of the New York Mets, who have just defeated the New York Yankees, and two games ahead of Atlanta, who will be playing the Oakland Athletics for two more games.

The Phillies offense, led by Jayson Werth’s three homers, resulting in eight RBIs, hits the Phils back into a first place tie with the Florida Marlin as they defeat the visiting Blue Jays, 10-3. Jamie Moyer would pitch six and two-thirds innings, staying in control for most of the game, as he picks up his third win of the season. Werth would start the Phils’ scoring off in the second inning as he hits a three-run home run, his seventh of the season, off of Blue Jays’ losing pitcher David Purcey, scoring Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell, who have both gotten on base with a walk, making it 3-0 Phils. The Phillies would increase their lead in the third as Howard knocks in Jimmy Rollins, who has earlier singled, with a RBI single, making it 4-0 Phils. Werth would then break the game wide open with a grand slam home run, his seventh home run of the season, scoring Chase Utley, who has singled, Howard, and Burrell, who has been walked for the second time that night, giving the Phils an 8-0 lead. The Blue Jays would get two runs back in the top of the fourth, as Alex Rios gets a RBI double off of Moyer, knocking in Aaron Hill, who has earlier singled, making it 8-1 Phils. Rios would then come home on a RBI single by Scott Rolen, making the score 8-2 Phillies. The Phils would get one of those runs back in the fifth inning on Jayson Werth’s third home run of the night, as he hits a solo shot off of Jesse Litsch, who was pitching in relief of Pucey, his ninth home run of the year, giving the Phils a 9-2 lead. The last Phils run would come in the six on a RBI double by Shane Victorino, scoring Rollins, who has also doubled, making it 10-2 Phils. Moyer would give up a run in the top of the seventh on a RBI single to Marco Scutaro, scoring Lyle Overbay, who has earlier singled, with two out. Chad Durbin would then come in to relieve Moyer, with runners on first and third, and two outs, before he got Hill to pop out to Chris Coste in foul territory, ending the threat. Clay Condrey would then come in to pitch the ninth, ending the game in spite of a last minute threat by the Blue Jays.

Jamie Moyer gets the victory as he pitched six and two-thirds innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits. His season record is now 3-3 with an ERA of 4.89. The victory also makes his career record against the Blue Jays 14-8. Chad Durbin pitched one and a third innings of relief, giving up no runs on no hits, while Clay Condrey would pitched the ninth inning, giving up no runs on two hits. Blue Jays’ starter David Purcey took the lose, going only three innings, giving up eight earned runs on five hits, two of them being two of Jayson Werth’s three home runs. His record is now 0-1 as his ERA balloons to 11.05. Jesse Litsch would also pitch three innings, as he gives up two earned runs on five hits, all but one of them being extra-base hits. Brian Tallet would pitch the last two innings, giving up no runs on no hits.

Jayson Werth would be the 18th player (20th overall) in franchise history to hit three home runs in a game, with the last one to do it being Ryan Howard back on September 3, 2006 against the Braves in the first game of a twin-bill. His eight RBIs would also tie a franchise record, being the fifth Phil to do it, tying Kitty Bransfield, Gavvy Cravath, Willie “Puddin’ Head” Jones and Mike Schmidt. Meanwhile, Ryan Howard would hit in his eighth straight game, while getting at least one RBI in seventh straight games.

David Purcey would be the last left handed starter the Phils will face for a while. In facing five straight lefties, the Phils have banged up all five, winning three of the games, losing one, and having a no-decision in the fifth, although later losing the game. The Phils will now face five straight right handers, starting with tonight’s game at Citizens Bank Park, which will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phils’ starter will be Adam Eaton (0-1, 5.40), who is still looking for his first win of the season. His last start was a no-decision against the Giants on May 11. In that game, he would go five innings, giving up two earned runs on five hits, in the Phils’ tough 4-3 lost. Career-wise, Eaton is 6-6 against the Blue Jays with a 2.91 ERA. The Blue Jays (21-23, 4th American League East) will be sending to the mound A.J. Burnett (3-4, 4.94), who is coming off of a lost as he went seven and two-thirds innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits, in the Blue Jays’ 3-0 lost to the Cleveland Indians in the first game of a doubleheader on May 12. His previous start was also a lost, as he pitched six innings, giving up five earned runs on nine hit, in the Blue Jays’ 5-4 lost to the Tampa Bay Rays on May 6. He will be trying to improve his record. The Phils hope that they will now do to righties what they have just recently done to lefties.

The Phils’ (24-19) win puts them back in a first place tie with the Florida Marlins, who lost their interleague game with the Royals. Both teams are presently two games ahead of the Mets, whose game with the Yankees last night was postponed because of rain, and the Braves, who came from behind to defeat the Athletics. The Phils hope to be able to stay in a tie for first place or be in first place all by themselves after tonight’s ball game.

Interleague play starts tonight as the second place Phillies (23-19) begins the final three games series of their present six games home stand as they face the Toronto Blue Jays (21-22, 4th American League East). The game, unless rained out, will start at 7:05 pm Eastern in Citizens Bank Park. The Phils’ starting pitcher will be Jamie Moyer (2-3, 5.02), who is coming off of a bad outing where he got torched by the Giants on May 10, giving up six earned runs on nine hits while pitching only four innings, as he took the lost in the Phils’ 8-2 defeat. Moyer and the Phils hope that he will be able to redeem himself and even up his record with a win tonight. The Blue Jays will be opposing him with David Purcey (0-0, 2.08), who will be making only his second major league start after being called up from Triple-A Syracuse. In his previous start on April 18 against the Detroit Tigers, he would receive a no-decision as he goes four and a third innings, giving up one earned run on two hits, while walking seven in the Blue Jays’ 8-4 lost. He will be looking to gain his first major league win. With Pucey, the Phils will have faced five straight left handed starters, so far defeating two, losing to one and having a no-decision with the fifth.

Last year in 15 games against American League teams, the Phillies went 8-7, one of the few National League teams to actually end up with a winning record. In fact, the Phils faced the Blue Jays in interleague play last season, going 2-1.

The Phils look to win the series against their former World Series foe, while hoping that the Marlins will do not so well as they face the Kansas City Royals, and either regain the lead in the National League East, or tie for first with the fish. The Phils also hope that they can gain some ground on both the Mets and the Braves as they respectively face the New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics.

Edit: It has just been announced that the Mets-Yankees game has been postponed due to rain, while the Royals have taken an early 2-0 lead over the Marlins in the first inning.

Cole Hamels pitchs his first career shutout as he holds the Chipper Jones-less Atlanta Braves to four hits in the Phils’ 5-0 victory. The victory leaves the Phillies a full game behind the Florida Marlins, whose game with the Reds in Cincinnati was postponed because of rain. The Phils would score their first run in the second inning against losing Braves’ starter Chuck James as Pedro Feliz hit a solo home run, his sixth home run of the year, making it 1-0 Phils. The Phils would increase their lead in the third with Ryan Howard hitting his ninth home run of the season, making a 2-0 Phillies lead. The Phils would make it 3-0 as Feliz knocks in his second RBI of the night, singling in Pat Burrell, who has gotten on base earlier with a walk. The Phils would then make it 5-0 in the fourth as Shane Victorino hits his first home run of the season, knocking in Jimmy Rollins, who has earlier walked. That would be all the runs that Hamels would actually need as he gives up just three singles to Omar Infante, Gregor Blanco and Jeff Francoeur and a double to Brian McCann. The Braves would attempt to rally twice, both times late in the game, first with McCann on second with two outs in the seventh, and then with runners on first and second with two outs in the eighth, after giving up walks to Greg Norton and Yunel Escobar, but Hamels would pitch himself out of both situations, with a fly out (seventh), and a ground out (eighth). In the ninth, after giving up a single to Francoeur, Hamels would get Mark Teixeira to hit into a double play, on a fantastic play by Rollins. Hamels would then get McCann to end the game by striking out swinging, his sixth strike out of the night. Cole Hamels gets the win, throwing 120 pitches overall as he goes all nine inning, giving up no earned runs on four hits, striking out six and walking two. With his first career complete game shut out, Hamels record improves to 5-3 while his ERA drops to 2.89. Braves’ starter Chuck James took the lost, going only four innings, as he is beaten up by Phillies’ hitters for five earned runs on six hits. His record drops to 2-3 while his ERA rises to 8.22. Jorge Campillo would pitch three innings of relief, giving up no runs on five hits. Chris Resop would pitch an inning, giving up no runs on one hit. The Phillies offense had twelve hits over all, with Rollins, Jayson Werth, Feliz and even Hamels, as each went 2-4 on the night. In fact, all but one of the Phils’ starting nine would get at least one hit in the game, as Chase Utley took the collar, going 0 for 3 with a walk. Meanwhile, Ryan Howard appears to be getting his swing back, as he has now hit safely in seven straight games, during which time he has hit a double, a triple and three home runs. With the win, the Phils win the series 2-1, while teeing off on all three of Atlanta’s starting left handers, although Tom Glavine would survive long enough to win one of the games for Atlanta. The second place Phillies are now a full game behind the first place Marlins, who will now meet the Kansas City Royals in Miami for three games. They are a game and half ahead of the third place Mets, who will be facing the New York Yankees for three games in Yankees Stadium. The fourth place Braves now trail the Phils by two games as they face the Oakland Athletics for a three games series in Atlanta. The Phillies (23-19) will begin their first Interleague series tonight against the Toronto Blue Jays (21-22, 4th American League East) for the first of three games at Citizens Bank Park. The game starts at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phils starter will be Jamie Moyer (2-3, 5.02), who is coming off of his worst outing of the season, as he got rocked by the Giants on May 10, giving up six earned runs on nine hits while going only four innings, in the Phils’ 8-2 lost. He will be looking to both redeem himself and evening his record. The Blue Jays will most likely counter with David Purcey (0-0, 2.08), who would be making his first start since April 18, when he started against the Detroit Tigers, after being called up from Triple-A Syracuse. In that game, he would get a no-decision, as he goes four and one-third innings, giving up an earned run on two hits, in the Blue Jays’ 8-4 lost. He will be looking for his first major league win. The Phillies will be looking to stay pace with the Marlins, if not regain first place, as they look to win yet another series at home.

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